Making Your Own Gear

[Guest WebsterUno]

I once helped my friends build a clubhouse in some hillside.

It was right behind our house.It was huge too! We used plastic bags,

rocks and wood. We left home after we made it.

We went back the next day to find it half torn down. A fire had been

made and put out. They also made adjustments to our lil clubhouse,

I thought, "WTF?!" Whoever did it left us a message written on a piece of wood.

It read: "Painthedz GO AWAY, this is our spot!" We just started rebuilding.

We started chilling, and night had fallen. We went home a lil after. Next day we

show up, and we run into the guys who tore our shit down. We had some balls,

cuzz we had the nerve to ask them what they were doing in our clubhouse.

They laughed at us, and told us its THEIR clubhouse. We didnt get scared,

we just stood our ground and explained to them that we had buil it. They heard

us out, quickly befriended us and gave us space. They told us to be carefull

about going their at night. They said they ran into the 'painthedz' and that they

were the ones who tore our shit down. But they (the guys we met) had rebuilt it.

They liked the idea but they said it was too big, cops would see it. So they fixed it.

They showed us how to pull copper wire, to make money, from a car that had

been torched by some neighborhood gangsters (thats another story). They sat

there and schooled us on not getting in trouble, staying in school, and listening to

our folks, good advice, ya know. A few months had passed, we hadnt seen them

since. I signed up to work in a soup kitchen for a few days. While I was serving

food I looked up a saw Anthony! all I could do was smile. It felt weird, serving the

guy that schooled me down about some serious shit. I really took into consideration

what he told me, so he's stuck in my head forever. Whereever he is, I hope he is ok.

After reading what youve posted in here, I couldnt help but think of Anthony. He was

a cool dude. Thanx for bringing back good old memories. Respect to you sir.

webs148

the little big man

[KaBar]

NAK--You don't read enough.

[Guest WebsterUno]

*believe*

 

Yes nak, please read.

Its useful info, and could help save

your life if ever needed.

Hey Kabar, I bet you know how to

makea 'spread' too huh!

[KaBar]

Webster---I'm not familiar with that term. Enlighten me, I'd like to know.

[Guest WebsterUno]

A "spread" man!

Top Ramen and all the

jailhouse fixins! ;) Mix

it all together, and 'spread'

the love with all the homies

in the barracks. Bologna,

cheese, mayonaise, mustard,

hotdogs. Sounds like shit,

but you can live on it.

[KaBar]

Chow

 

Web--Ahhh, yes, I follow. Yes, when you are hopping, you definately need to bring some good chow, and one of the great things about Top Ramen and other noodle dishes is they are cheap and easy to prepare, and you can eat them straight from the gunboat. I carry a lot of stuff like cans of sardines, "fish steaks" (more sardines, really, I think), Spam, vienna sausages, tuna fish and so on. I carry crackers and bread and a little jar of peanut butter; roasted, salted peanuts in the shell, Tootsie Roll suckers, Louisiana Hot Sauce, macaroni-and-cheese and so forth. What you need trainhopping is stuff you can eat without cooking it. "Trail mix" is good, but I prefer to make my own--it's cheaper and you get all the good stuff in there. Don't forget a tokay blanket--something good, cheap-ass and fortified, like Night Train or MD 20/20 or T-bird or the old stand-by, White Port and Lemon Juice (WPLJ's). El-jays are the height of hobo cool. The "martini" of the hobo jungle, as it were.

[Guest WebsterUno]

Ahh…good ole White Port!

Ive drank it, but its a lil harsh.

I prefer Night Train with Kool-Aide.

Just the Fruit Punch flavoring, no water.

Turns your lips red, but it tastes damn

good! Keeps you warm too. But you

know, Carlos Rossi is good too.

Im not planning on taking off anytime

soon, but if I ever had to, I think

I got enough common sense and

street knowledge to pull it off. Ive got

a good life ahead of me, I feel.

Ive also got a responsibilty, and she

is what makes me keep on keeping on.

Peace out Kabar. Thanx for your

input, and time on a subject some of

us had/have no knowledge of.

[TEE_rase_war]

I have thought about running away for a while now, to just take off would mean freedom for me. Although it would put a large burden on my parents, it is to release. Running away scares me, I would lose friends, my art, paint etc. things that are very important to me. I have decided in opposition to runing away, moving away legitimatly. I know many people are in situations were they have to run away at that very moment for various reasons but mine is different.

My choice to "run away" is to move out, although money is a little tight, I need to get out. I am moving close enough for poeple to be in touch, but yet staying the fuck away from my father.

This is a good choice, although i have a different reason then most, leaving home and being legit will pay off more immidiatly, although you wil have to worry about bils, it's just a little safer and i can continue with things that i love.

Im going to a place with snow, mountains, and a beautiful resort, Whistler BC if yal want a nice place to live.

 

Ps. im not sure why i wrote this, i just need to get it off my chest.

 

my 2 useless cents.

[Guest WebsterUno]

How old are you trase?

[TEE_rase_war]

17 officer :D

 

 

yeah...these are me plans

[KaBar]

Tee Rase--I know that you will do whatever you want, but playing the Voice Of Experience tells me "Wait till you are legally an adult." If you take off when you're 17, you'll just get busted and it will all get fucked up. If you wait till your 18th birthday, then you will be LEGAL and nobody can tell you "no." Instead of taking off, why doncha just PREPARE to do so, so that when you do go, you'll be sucessful, instead of arriving back home in the back of some RCMP squad car?

Not to say that I didn't do the same thing when I was a kid. I took off when I was 16, with some older guys, to California. Lucky for me, we never really got busted, just hassled and "moved along" by the cops a few times. ("Get out of Orange County before daylight, or you are all going to jail.") When I finally left home for good at age 19, and I have remained free and independent ever since. Don't screw up. Wait till you don't need anybody's permission to make your own mistakes, unless your parents are beating you or sexually abusing you or some horrible shit like that. That's my opinion, anyway.

[Guest CRUNKABUNKA]

i just brought old english letters and put em on my jean jacket ....now thats gangsta graff.........and real cheap 35 cents a letter can't go wroung their..............peace out dunnie

[Guest WebsterUno]

*believe*

 

Im not 5-0. Far from it kiddo.

I wrote a lengthy paragraph about

hopefully steering you away from running

away. But depending on your situation,

well, Id say try to work it out first.

Its not wise to leave home at a young age.

If kabar is what he says he is, then he is the wiser.

I can tell you, the streets are cold and

have no mercy. They can make your heart

freeze, and you eyes turn black.

Dont say I didnt warn you.

[deformatron]

This is one of the most interesting and usefull things i've read in a long time. i myself have thought of going away and living off the land many times, but im glad that i didnt because im realizing the value of an education more and more each day and that i should finish mine up somehow. this gets bumped to the top forthe wisdom that comes from experience. thanks kabar.

 

and if you dont mind me asking, how is it that you are able to have internet access if you are still train hopping?

[KaBar]

Part-timer, Not 24/7

 

Deformatron---I am only a part-time trainhopper these days, what we used to call a "tourist." (That was a big insult back then.) The full-time tramps and trainhoppers have nothing but disdain, of course, for the part-timers, and especially towards the "yo-bos" (the wealthy guys who trainhop with REI gear, cell phones, scanners, etc.) I have a regular job, a home, and a family to support. So I ride trains only when I can afford to do so, time-wise. Actually, being a part-timer is worse, because if you get popped, the railroad police know that you've got a job and the wherewithal to pay a fine, so they "throw the book at you." They often don't even bother to write up the true tramps, because, quite frankly, they don't have any money, or a permenant residence, or any identification, and sleeping in the County jail instead of out in the rain doesn't sound so bad, not to mention three squares a day. If I were a full-time, 24/7 tramp, I wouldn't care if I got busted or not. What the hell, they can lock you up, but they can't really hurt you much. But if you have a family and a job, getting busted can be a serious problem, especially if you are supposed to be at work on Monday morning.

If I were a full-time tramp, I'd use the computers in libraries or maybe buy time on a computer in an Internet Cafe so that I could keep up with my email. Plenty of hoppers do just that, especially the young guys.

[Guest WebsterUno]

I deleted my lengthy paragraph,

because I didnt want to be a bad influence.

Thats why I asked your age.

[deformatron]

thank you very much Kabar. stay safe on your next trip.

[TEE_rase_war]

at this moment (without revealing alot) i am 17, by the time that I leave i will be a leagl adult...unfortunatly I dont have physical reason to leave..it's all upstairs(mantal i mean)...not abuse either...the parental units are just wearing thin, as well as my stay here...I am not what you would call a pure (smith) lets just say, I dont fit the image of the family god so graciously put me into. I need to escape, although when I do I wil be 18, due to that special date comming up soon....as for being a run away, that is not my plan, to live off the land is also not the way i anticipate...i will be living with some close friends in a small resort...my art will sufer, but i wioll grow and learn the real meaning of independance....i wil also try to write a book, as this is one of my goals in life....I plan to learn from experience, and mistakes and that is something that i am planning for. Granted that this world chews you up and spits you out, i have planned for that to happen, and in the end what do you take with you....just memories (i hope) and i will try to have only good ones, and not dwell in the past. I believe that a good mindset is a very important part to a sucessful life, that I am ready for.

without being a real sap! and a sucker, because this world hates

 

 

peace to al peacefull peeps-

[suburbian bum]

bump

[KaBar]

Plastic Peanut Butter Jars

 

One of the biggest hassles about being on the bum is weather. Obviously, if it rains or snows, and you are out in it, you are not going to stay too dry. Down here in Houston it rains a lot. Anything you want to keep dry you need to keep in plastic. I put newspapers, and toilet paper inside of plastic bags (TP goes in a sturdy zip-loc.) But the best of all at keeping stuff dry and un-crushed is a plastic peanut butter jar. I put boxes of matches, spare I.D., extra Bic lighters, tobacco and rolling papers, First Aid stuff, etc in a plastic peanut butter jar to keep it dry and so I can always find it. I also keep my tripod dog-chain and my Z-hooks in there, same reason. That way I have matches, dog chain and Z-hooks all in the same place in my ruck. Try it, it works good. BEFORE YOU BUY STUFF, try to make it out of free stuff that you have laying around the house. Clothes torn? Gloves ripped? SEW THEM UP YOURSELF. Don't use a machine, there ain't going to be a Mom and a sewing machine out there on the side of the ballast in Wyoming. Carry extra buttons. If you're going to throw away an old shirt, scavenge the buttons, put them in your housewife, along with sewing needles, thread, a little pair of folding scissors, thread wax, etc.

[vinyl junkie]

word... i haven't bought new clothes (except band shirts) in years. I just patch up holes, or even make new clothes... I just made a pair of rigger's gloves from scratch the other day... Like KaBar said in the beginning it's more fun to make your own shit. you feel better about yourself too, you have more control over where your money goes. it may not be cheaper (although it usually is, think 5 gallons of super hard cider for under $20) but at least you can choose where the money is going... and a sewing tip for those so inclined: dental floss is much stronger than thread, but hard to make it look good (it's thick, and you can't match the colors of your fabric). upholstry thread is even stronger, and easier to make it look good, but is considerably more expensive...

[muthafuckinfatso]

First goin through these pages i gave up cuz it's sooo long to sit on the comp reading it all and burning my eyeballs. i printed it and read it alst night.

 

kabar,

man u should right a book of yer knowledge and yer adventures. u got sum good stuff to say,.

 

I got sum comments and questions:

 

Whats' a dog chain for. cutting it up and splitting it with yer buds?

 

I also wanna say that although yer dress will get u outta problems with the law and avoid u being stuck out on the main streets it won't help u when yer in fucked up places... yer dress should almost be a bit rugged to match with the people there.... like u can't wear sum respectable cloths while waiting in the bush. if u come across people and u look ok or better than them it might prove to go against you... like before catchin out i dont shave for days. i can't look pretty. it won't help me. but lookin clean cut on the streets and subways helps me pick up girls. nah mean?

[muthafuckinfatso]

so i've read it all and there's some good info here.

 

hey, I'd like to hear some more stories of sleeping on rooftops. and kabar (or anyone), are u familiar with people sleeping in trees?

 

Kabar, u seem like a law abiding citizen . and i know u dont' steal but i wonder why u tell us how to make whiskey an zipguns? and do u write on things at yer age? regardless thanks for the insights to makin shit. I think i'll do the whiskey thing for fun.... i wont get caught. u only get caught if yer dumb in the head.

[KaBar]

Survival Skills

 

MFFatso--I'll answer your questions in order, if I can remember them all, LOL. Okay. Dog chain--It's difficult to carry around a grille or other screen of some kind to put cooking pots on when you're tramping. Most jungles are in a rural type area or an industrial area where there is a lot of junk and trash. I find old abandoned refrigerators from time-to-time, and I scavenge the gratings out of the inside to make cooking grilles from. But they are a hassle to carry conveniently. Dog chain, on the other hand, can easily be stowed in your ruck or even a pocket. When you need to cook, you build a fire, scrounge up three sticks or tree limbs or some other length of stuff that you can make a tripod out of, and lash it together at one end. Then spread the three "legs" so it is standing over your fire. Your dog chain should have a snap-hook on one end. Loop it around the top of the tripod and snap it to make a loop. Let the running end hang in the fire. Pour some water, etc. in your gunboat and hang your Z-hook on the dog chain at a height that suspends the gunboat at the right height above the fire. When you're done making coffee, cooking or whatever, clean up the gunboat (ALWAYS leave the gunboat clean for the next guy) and recover your dog chain. Let it cool off next to your pack. It will be cool in about five or ten minutes. Just don't forget it. Stow the tripod in a bush nearby the fire ring. NEVER BURN SOMEBODY ELSE'S TRIPOD STICKS FOR FIREWOOD. This whole deal revolves around respect. You have respect for yourself, so you respect the rights of others. Sometimes we have used "walking sticks" for tripod sticks, too. If everybody carries a walking stick, and you have three guys, then you can build a campfire tripod out in the desert.

I carry my own gunboat in my ruck, in fact I have about three or four in my truck all the time. If I find a new jungle spot with no tripod and no fire ring, I build a fire ring and leave a gunboat on a stick in the ground, upside down.

Dog chain comes in 12-foot lengths at Lowe's or Wal-Mart for chaining up dogs. I cut mine into three 4-foot pieces, and then buy an extra hammer-on snap-hook. Then I have three dog chains, and I can share or sell the extras with other people. Also, if I'm surprised or jumped while I'm cooking, I can run, abandoning the dog chain in the fire, and still have another one to cook another time. Gunboats are easy to come by, I find the cans in restaurant dumpsters all the time. But dog chain is not normally just found lying around, at least, I never found any that didn't have a pissed-off dog attached to it.

 

Dress--How you dress is up to you, I'm not trying to tell anybody how to dress. But if you're snooping and pooping in somebody's rail yard, you'd be wise to dress like you work for CSX or UP or BNSF as opposed to dressing like you are a roadie for a heavy-metal band. It's just common sense.

 

I only slept on a flat roof that one time. It was some scarey shit waking up and realizing that if I had rolled over or got up, drunk, to piss, I could have fallen off and killed my dumb ass self. It really put the fear of God in me, for real. I slowed down my drinking after that.

I have slept in trees in a hammock, up about ten feet or so. It's a little scarey. I suspend my ruck on a limb and pass a rope around my waist to keep me from trying to just "get up" half awake. The hard part is finding a tree big enough to swing a hammock in. There aren't many trees like that where I go. But I often swing a hammock between two smaller trees, by driving a few nails into the back side of the trees about five feet up from the ground. This suspends my hammock about two feet from the ground. I worry a little bit about being surprised in my sleep, because it's difficult to spring up out of a hammock. It's good to travel with a partner, and take turns sleeping, or with a good dog. I've had several dogs that understood when I told them to "Guard!" and tied them to my ruck. They defend your ruck just like it was a house, and bark like hell at any intruders. Dogs are extremely smart, and loyal. The dog I have now lays down under my hammock and seems to stay awake at night, watching for intruders.

 

I sure don't advocate making any illegal whiskey, but somebody asked me about it, and I told them. It ain't any secret. But it IS a felony, and if you got caught you would be in a world of shit.

 

Zip guns are kid stuff. We did it when I was about 13 or 14, and then we destroyed them and threw the pieces away. If I want a firearm, it ain't hard to get one, and you know this as well as I do. In the present political and social climate in the U.S., I STRONGLY ADVISE everybody who reads this to STRICTLY AVOID any illegal behavior. Getting caught with a gun if you're underage will probably result in several months in a psychiatric facility if not juvenile detention. All the adults are scared shitless of Columbine-like craziness, and anybody who can't see this probably needs a little psych care. Your choice. I say "Don't do it." Again, it ain't no secret. I often carry pocket knives and sometimes my "tramp knife" I made. BE LEGAL. I am, most of the time. And when I know I'm technically breaking some rule or law, I am very, VERY careful. I have three rules, really.

 

1.) Respect yourself, live with dignity and respect others.

2.) Keep a Clean Camp.

3.) Don't shit where you eat.

 

This covers about 99.9% of all situations you'll ever find yourself in.

[muthafuckinfatso]

thanks for the reply.but you didn't answer one question i'm wonderin. do u write or what? curious i am.

 

yeah i like the idea of stayin in a tree for a few days but if yer waitin and ready to bounce in a moment it would be quite cumbersome getting it all together and running to the ladder.

[KaBar]

Somebody asked me this farther up the stack on another thread. Yeah, I write once in a while, but my real interest is in tags and streaks. I like looking at graff more than writing. Like I told that other person, there's a lot more people go to the art museum than to the art school.

[muthafuckinfatso]

what kinda handstyles are u diggin? just fr8 streaks? u like fatcap tags on the streets? one-liners?

[KaBar]

My own stuff is pretty much limited to streaks these days. I tried a few hollows, but I didn't like the look of it, and it bothered me that I had a fairly big area marked up with graff that I didn't really care for. Not everybody was born with the talent and creativity it takes to be a first class graff artist. The work that I enjoy the most is large fill-in pieces, like those works that would require at least two or three fast-moving guys in a crew to put up safely. I see a lot of graffitti. Some of it is outstanding, some of it is junk. This is no different than other forms of artistic expression. One must take artistic risks to make any headway. I try to suspend judgement with graff as I do with, say, non-representational minimalist paintings. The difficulty is that one's interaction with fr8 graff is brief and ephemeral. Most of the time, you get fifteen seconds to appreciate it, and then it's gone away down the track, probably forever. Photographing graff in lay-ups is much better to me.

[vinyl junkie]

bump-diggity

[ASER1NE]

Bump so i can read this tomorrow : )